Mike Smith Studio were approached to create this oak table for the restaurant by Sebastian Bergne, with whom we have worked previously.

The table was created out of 200 year old Oak from the Longleat Estate in Wiltshire. The Oak is from the same tree which forms ‘TREE’ – a permanent exhibition in the Natural History Museum, London to celebrate the life and ideas of Charles Darwin.

Such rich provenance suits the Chef’s Table, where diners will be able to watch the busy modern kitchen in action, as the chefs prepare historically inspired British dishes devised by Heston Blumenthal and Ashley Palmer-Watts (Executive Chef for the Fat Duck group, Head Chef at Dinner.)

Here at the studio we carefully chose each piece of wood before skimming and planking them. We then attached them together to form the rough size and shape of the table before machining it to the perfect form and then hand-finishing it with wood dye and food-safe lacquer.

The result is a rich deep colour which allows the natural beauty of the wood to shine through.